that tampa, home to one of the most important military bases in the country, was also home to one of florida's best party scenes. here's josh mankowitz. >> reporter: the presidential election was only days ago, a potentially crippling budget crisis is only weeks away. and yet for the last few days, our nation's attention has been fixed not on the fiscal, but on the physical. welcome to america in the information age. where the trivial often drives out the serious. where the sensational can trump everything. and where we expect better behavior from our leaders than from ourselves. >> thank you very much. >> reporter: that modern rule book cost cia director general david petraeus his job, after he got caught having an affair with his equally married biographer, paula broadwell. >> when i heard the news, you could knock me over with a feather. >> reporter: colonel jack jacobs, awarded the congressional medal of honor, has known david petraeus for almost 40 years. >> young officers always gravitated to him. he was their ideal, if not their idol. >> reporter: the shocking fall of a genuine hero has